This Wednesday we were back at the Salvation Army, where we had the task of cleaning toys and tidying up the arts & crafts supplies. Our Southwark group breezed through the tasks and managed to get them done in records time. After which, we headed over to Camberwell to have a few drinks at the Joiner's Arms (and we got a small cake to celebrate the recent milestones from Paulin and Andrada!)

It was Wednesday night - which meant group run night! Most of the crew had gathered, ready at Old Spike, but one familiar face (me!) was missing… Took me only a while (and a half) to get to Old Spike to let us all in. After a quick warm up session we set off to Copleston Church and Community Centre, a new task for us. A short run away.

Once there, we got stuck straight into a 45-minute kitchen blitz — scrubbing, wiping, shining, and probably inventing new ways to get into awkward corners. The place was sparkling (almost!) by the end, and the team at Copleston were so thankful for our help. All in all a decent run, chat, clean, and even background music as we did it — classic GoodGym Southwark vibes! Andrada even hit her 50th good deed with this run! Nice one!

Although our community gardening session was cancelled last night, it turned into the perfect chance for a bit of litter picking instead. We gathered at Old Spike before heading out for a run around Peckham Rye Park, then split into three teams for the clean-up.

To make things even more fun, there were prizes up for grabs: the best “G” item for GoodGym, the most “South London” find, and the piece most likely to belong in a modern art museum. In true diplomatic style, each team came away with a win—so everyone left happy!

We finished with a run back to Old Spike, a well-earned cool down, and then headed home feeling accomplished.

It was raining last Wednesday, but by 6pm, the rain had cleared, just in time for our group run! Meeting at Old Spike were Mikhail, David, Nelly, Daryl, Nathan and Isaac. We were also joined by newbie Eva. After a quick warm-up and an ice breaker ("What is your favourite fruit?" in celebration of National Peach Day), we set off for a new task, at Lordship Lane Estate.

Meeting at the task were Anna and Maria who were there already by the time we arrived. Liam arrived later - a familiar and friendly face from the past - welcome back! Also there to help were some volunteers from the estate.

The task owner, Lizzie gave us a warm welcome and quickly put us to work. We helped with a wide range of tasks: raking, weeding, tidying, planting and even harvesting. By the end, the garden was looking a lot tidier. We'd filled multiple bags full of litter and weeds. And a date sorted for returning next month!

We ran back to Peckham, with a small detour up Dawson's hill for the sunset. And then to the pub. Great job all!

We were joined last minute by Emma, who had heard there were blackberries to rip up. So after a short hop, skip and a jump we set off to Thorlands.

After arriving slightly early we were met by Simon, who explained we needed to move leaf mould and take out the blackberries, which had taken over too much of the community garden. So we got to work and managed to clear a significant area of the blackberry while the other half of the group transported many barrows of mould.

After the hard work and the job back to Peckham we cooled off at the Nags.